AIBU to think this is a bit nuts? Trans woman is being praised online for still working at 37 weeks into her "simulated" pregnancy

[CalmGreenEagle]

I have just read on Facebook about this transgender woman, Gabrielle Darone, aged 32, who simulated a pregnancy last year in order to address "gender dysphoria about not being able to carry a child". She wore a fake belly and simulated morning sickness, breathing difficulties, tiredness and other symptoms. She blogged about her experience and received a lot of praise online for still continuing to work at 37 weeks into her "pregnancy".

AIBU to think this is just crazy? Wearing a fake belly and pretending to have pregnancy symptoms is absolutely NOTHING like the real difficulties that women who are actually pregnant have to go through. Sometimes I think I am on a different planet.

Interesting that Owen Jones knows who to ask when he wants to rent-a-womb.

He obviously doesn’t know Princess Mom. She’s a Real Lady and I’m sure would lend her lady body to him to help make a baby.

He's only about half as stupid as he pretends to be.

When you study lactation, you learn female physiology, biology, psychology. Lots of fascinating and complex stuff about the mother/baby dyad.

Male sexual arousal is just not featured at all.

Its probably why its appealing, I suppose. Most paraphilias are underpinned by non consensuality - breaching boundaries are what the arousal is predicated on.

Exactly, it’s not just him. The whole situation wouldn’t have got so bad without the constant affirmations and telling him “he’s brave in his truth”.
People think all kinds of harmful things, like the anorexia example I gave or suicidal ideation but it’s a very small minority who encourage such beliefs and behaviour, most try to shut down online groups promoting this and encourage them to seek mental health support. Instead, men like him have been celebrated and anyone daring to question his “truth” is a threatening and bullied. This is the sort of lunacy that we are seeing as a result of not nipping it in the bud a lot earlier.

Well said. Fury and adamantine determination not to cede one inch to male privilege is the only rational response to this campaign of wholesale appropriation and erasure.

The OP is neutral. You have frequently posted on these threads handwaving away women’s concerns, haven’t you?

Exactly what has happened. And yes I am angry about it, and so are many other women. And sometimes it’s difficult to know what to say, I get that. And I don’t blame the OP for feeling got at and I’m personally not aiming at her. But the pandering is the problem.

Surely a win win for “trans rights”! You’d think Owen would be over the moon to do that.

Grim as fuck.

I can kind of understand not learning about male fetishism when one is being taught lactation.

But you'd think normal life experience would give an indication.

For instance, my midwife was fully alive to the weirdness of some husbands over their wives breastfeeding. Just because she encountered it quite a lot.

if you're in the business of female lactation, I can't imagine that you wouldn't come across a fetish for it. Maybe not as an individual person, to be honest. But an entire organisation devoted to it?

Just another thought on pronouns usage.

I wonder if this recent video from Amy Sousa on using female language on a one on one situation and the cognitive impact of that is useful here.

https://x.com/knownheretic/status/2014565139341836724?s=46

IDK, mostly you are dealing with women in one to one sessions. Fathers are there during ante natal sessions I guess?

Remember its only in the past, what, ten years or so that everyone suddenly lost their minds and decided men performing fetish in public was stunning and brave and to be affirmed.

True. And being allowed to be so open about it, too

I will never fully understand how we have got to the stage where, as a society, this man was enabled to act out his pregnancy fetish in public.

Charities like La Leche League are complicit though, they have totally lost their minds in encouraging this kind of behaviour.

Surely at some point they've got to back track?

How can they? How can an organisation ostensibly and originally set up.to empower women admit they got taken over and turned into one that promotes, aids and abets abuse?

Same predicament so many organisations face. Including the NHS. Admit you've caused harm and face the subsequent storm. Say nothing and perpetuate the harm.

I was on a Facebook group for mums taking medication to increase milk supply and in the deep depths of post natal depression caused in part by my inability to BF, and I had to leave the group because it all became about this person (she was trying to get hold of medication to simulate breastfeeding i believe). I feel awful for her for her gender dysmorphia but there have to be safe spaces for birthing parents and for people to have important conversations around key issues.

I am so sorry to hear this @SparklyAzureCat .

I've probably said it before but maybe it can't be said too often: Why should I accept someone's assumed identity when they couldn't accept their own?

Well said.

Any other sort of dysphoria is treated as a mental health issue

This just proves the point.

Don’t know who is the more unhinged the person or the ones congratulating them.

These men are sick fucks. And anyone who indulges or supports them is complicit, and should be viewed with suspicion and contempt.

YABU to think it's only a bit nuts. It's full on whacko.
Which women get praised for continuing to work at 37 weeks?
What sort of weird kick fo others get from supporting and indulging these creepy cosplay frolics?

You've probably been told this already but it doesn't hurt to say it again
This is a man. He, him, his etc.